Neither Brian Cashman nor Aaron Boone can give you a precise estimate of how many games Giancarlo Stanton will serve at designated hitter or how often Aaron Judge will be in left field. They really don’t know.
But that’s a good thing.
What they do know is that their frontline outfielders -- for now, Jacoby Ellsbury is not in that group, as the fifth guy on the offseason depth chart -- are pliable and willing to do whatever they ask and can play multiple positions. Brett Gardner can play all three outfield spots, and so can Aaron Hicks. Judge played a better-than-average right field last season, with speed that is surprising for the biggest position player in baseball history, and though he could play left field on some days, he’s also an option in center field, a spot he manned extensively in college and occasionally in the minor leagues.
The lineup will be dictated by the needs of each day. It’s possible that the Opening Day lineup could be Gardner, Hicks and Judge in the outfield, left to right, with Stanton in the role of DH. But if Gardner is dealing with a minor nagging injury, Judge could play left and Stanton could be in right. Judge is coming back from shoulder surgery, and if he requires additional days off early, then Ellsbury could play center, with Stanton or Hicks in right field.
There’s also the possibility that Stanton won’t take to the DH role and might prefer to play in the outfield most days -- and that would not be unusual. Even in the late stages of Albert Pujols’ career, there is a belief that he is more comfortable in his at-bats if he’s playing first base. Some players feel more into the flow of the game if they can focus on defense between their plate appearances, rather than waiting 45 minutes to an hour in the dugout or the clubhouse for each at-bat.
It could be that Stanton will love the DH role and perhaps prefer it. He has started 13 games in his career at that spot, and in that small sample of games, he has batted .333 with an OPS of 1.019. Even so, it probably wouldn’t be in the Yankees’ long-term interest to have the 28-year-old Stanton settle in as a full-time DH with 10 years remaining on his contract. For almost all teams, the DH has become a useful spot to park a player for semi-rest. Last year, 17 position players had plate appearances as the DH for the Yankees.
How Boone arranges his outfield in his first season as the Yankees’ manager will mostly be a feel thing, which is why in January, when snow covers the Yankee Stadium outfield, he can’t tell you if Stanton will play 20 games in right field or 120. The Yankees will all report to Tampa and figure it out together.
Because of that uncertainty, we’ll list both Judge and Stanton in our ranking of the Top 10 right fielders, which was compiled with the input of evaluators from both leagues and with the aid of ESPN researchers Sarah Langs, Paul Hembekides and Mark Simon.
1. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
The slump that he experienced lasted almost two months, a mid-July slog that extended all the way through August and into September. It meant day after day of strikeouts and reporter autopsies, in the world’s largest media market. Those were the worst of times for Aaron Judge in 2017, encompassing a third of the season, but he still managed to be productive because of his exceptional plate discipline. He took his walks, got on base and posted a .346 OBP, and through that awful stretch, he was still a threat, scoring 30 runs and playing good defense.
The other two-thirds of the season, he was arguably the best player in baseball. In the 101 games that bookended the slump, Judge batted .335 with 82 walks, 98 runs and 43 home runs -- in his rookie season.
The fact that he eventually dug his way out of that slide -- and another during the postseason -- gave some early insight into his ability to make adjustments, which Matt Holliday and other teammates lauded.
Because of his size and the size of his strike zone, he’ll always strike out a lot, and he’ll always have some slumps. But he was monster performer last year, and nobody was really close to him in fWAR.
From Sarah Langs: Judge became the fifth player in MLB history with at least 50 homers, 120 walks and 120 runs scored in a season, joining Babe Ruth (who did it four times), Mickey Mantle, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds.
2. Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees
As he told our friend Jayson Stark last spring, he arrived at camp rededicated to baseball after traveling extensively in the aftermath of Jose Fernandez’s death, and Stanton had the best season of his career in ’17. He played in 159 games and blasted 59 homers, and even while playing for the struggling Marlins -- in their pitcher’s park -- he did more than enough to win the NL MVP. Some evaluators noted that Stanton seemed more patient at the plate, which showed in the results: His chase rate fell to a career low last season, and his swing-and-miss rate was at 12.5 percent, his best ever. As pitchers will attest: When Stanton hits the ball, bad stuff (or good) happens. Quickly.
There will be questions this year about his transition to a place of greater media scrutiny in New York after he played the first half of his career for a team covered regularly by just three news outlets.
From Langs: Stanton joined Andruw Jones (2005) as the only players with at least 10 defensive runs saved in a 50-homer season (DRS dates to 2003).
3. Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
He could easily be No. 1 on this list, if not for his injuries. Over the past five seasons, Harper has played more than 118 games in a season twice. When he suffered his knee injury last summer, Harper was probably a front-runner to be the NL MVP for the second time in his career, after posting a wRC+ of 156. In the end, that mark tied with Stanton's.
Only Shohei Ohtani will be watched more closely than Harper this year, and the pressure hovering over Harper will be a Category 5 swirl. With Harper closing in on free agency next fall, this might be the last chance this core group of Nationals has to win a championship together after stalling in the postseason repeatedly in the past. There will be questions about that. Also, the All-Star Game will be in Washington this year, and each of Harper’s words and actions will be picked apart for clues about his intentions: Will he stay, or will he go? Finally, of course, there is speculation building that he and/or Manny Machado will surpass Stanton for the most lucrative contract ever.
By the way: Harper just turned 25 years old a couple months ago. This could be a great year for him because he’ll get to swing a bat and do a lot of baseball stuff. But it won’t be easy.
4. Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
If you created a ranking for the best all-around players in MLB, Betts probably would be somewhere in the top five, given his wide range of skills. One long-time evaluator said that in Betts’ work in right field, he plays balls hit in front of him “better than anyone I’ve ever seen. The best ever.” This is reflected in some of his metrics: Betts accumulated 31 defensive runs saved last season, the most by any outfielder by far. Betts is an exceptional baserunner as well; just Byron Buxton and Billy Hamilton generated higher ratings last season.
His offensive production lagged last season, and among the Red Sox hitters, he might have suffered the most from the departure of David Ortiz because there simply was no significant threat behind Betts. In a big spot, there was less reason to pitch to him. Thirty of the 77 walks he drew came with runners on base.
5. J.D. Martinez, free agent
If he eventually signs with Boston -- and many rival executives expect that this will happen -- then Martinez will probably be the primary DH for the Red Sox, unless they trade Jackie Bradley Jr. and move Andrew Benintendi to center, opening a spot in left for Martinez. But friends of Martinez say his preference is to continue to play as a corner outfielder, and last year he had a monster season as a right fielder for the Tigers and Diamondbacks. After joining Arizona, he had a .741 slugging percentage, with more homers (29) than singles (27).
6. Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers
He has five years in the majors, more than 2,000 at-bats and 4,500 innings on defense -- and evaluators are still trying to figure out what he is and what he’s going to do next. There are folks within the Dodgers organization who were surprised that he didn’t win a Gold Glove for his defense last season after he played consistently well, tying with Jason Heyward in DRS with 18 and repeatedly discouraging runners from trying to take an extra base. He showed more discipline at the plate and drew 64 walks in a good albeit unspectacular season.
7. Josh Reddick, Houston Astros
Some folks with other teams were surprised at the Astros’ level of investment in Reddick when he was a free agent last winter, but in his first season in Houston, he posted a .363 OBP, the best of his career. He greatly improved his performance against left-handed pitching, which had been a serious problem in the past -- last year, Reddick batted .315 versus lefties in 101 plate appearances. He did not rate well in defensive metrics, but at least one evaluator who saw him play regularly believes that Reddick might be a victim of methodological flaws in the way glove work is assessed and that he is a good outfielder.
8. Avisail Garcia, Chicago White Sox
He got in better shape last year and had the best season of his career, batting .330 with a .380 OBP. A skeptic might focus on a number that might inevitably change for him: Last year, his batting average on balls in play was .392, the highest in the majors by a margin of 21 points. That number is bound to come down.
9. His journey the past couple of years has been strange. In 2016, Bruce was an All-Star and hit 33 homers for the Reds and Mets. He followed that with a strong first half for the Mets in ’17, but no team stepped forward with a substantive offer before the trade deadline, and then Bruce even passed through waivers unclaimed. The Mets eventually moved him to Cleveland in what was a salary giveaway, and all the while, he continued to play effectively, posting an .808 OPS. For the season, Bruce hit 36 homers, drove in 101 runs and saw an improvement in his defensive metrics, and on Wednesday, the 30-year-old agreed to a three-year deal to return to Queens.
10. Dexter Fowler, St. Louis Cardinals
With Tommy Pham taking over in center field for St. Louis, Fowler shifts to right field. He battled injuries throughout 2017 and missed 44 games, but he managed to achieve a career high in homers and post a .363 OBP in his first season with the Cardinals.
Best of the rest
• Domingo Santana, Milwaukee Brewers: He was a full-time regular in the big leagues for the first time and had a strong season, with a .371 OBP, 88 runs, 30 homers and 15 steals.
• Steven Souza, Jr. Tampa Bay Rays: He had his best season with the Rays, hitting 30 homers with a .351 OBP.
• Kole Calhoun, Los Angeles Angels: He’s one of the players who could benefit from the improved depth of the Angels’ lineup because he’ll come to bat with runners on base more often through the additions of Justin Upton, Ian Kinsler and Zack Cozart.